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Beyond nationalism: a history of leisure discourse in and between the United States and Japan, 1910-1940

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BEYOND NATIONALISM: A HISTORY OF LEISURE DISCOURSE IN AND
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN, 1910-1940
by
Yuko Itatsu
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(HISTORY)
August 2009
Copyright 2009 Yuko Itatsu

This is a history of the negotiation of politics and leisure between the United States and Japan in the early 20th century, as seen in the bilateral intellectual history of leisure as well as in the nodes of Japanese American communities. It is about the interaction of global cultures through the examination of leisure and its intellectual, visual, and material culture in the Pacific Rim.; By exploring the differences and similarities of leisure institutions in Japanese American communities and by investigating the cultural negotiations in these communities, I portray the transnational dynamics of intercultural relations in popular culture. The thesis addresses issues of leisure as a socially constructed institution, the agency of immigrants in creating their own leisure culture in the U.S., and the modes of transnational cultural transmissions. The larger goal of the thesis is to analyze how inter-national politics (i.e., the mounting tension in U.S.-Japan diplomacy) affects the trans-national cultural networks (conducted by exhibitors and cultural brokers) and the ways in which supra-national cultures (such as movies) are appropriated.; In both the United States and Japan, leisure became a significant and common problem among intellectuals with the emergence of mass publics, the shortening of work hours, and the advent of commercial entertainment in the early twentieth century. While the urban cultural landscape and leisure activities in Japan became quite similar to counterparts in the U.S., I argue that the foundational ideology and justification for leisure and therefore the appropriation of leisure as a social institution were different in these two nations, and that these differences were subsequently contested and negotiated in the Japanese American communities.; Examining the conjuctures as well as disjunctures of economy, culture and politics in the leisure discourse of the first half of the twentieth century shows the intricate dynamics of international politics and their influence on transnational cultural networks, which serves as a vehicle in some cases for nurturing and disseminating a supranational cultural product. While the urge for consuming supranational cultural products proved to be stronger than society’s conviction to adhere to national interests in some cases, it requires careful historical and cultural analysis to understand how and when these supranational products are able to sustain a critical mass amidst complex international politics as well as cultural network politics.

i
BEYOND NATIONALISM: A HISTORY OF LEISURE DISCOURSE IN AND
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN, 1910-1940
by
Yuko Itatsu
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(HISTORY)
August 2009
Copyright 2009 Yuko Itatsu